Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

भूतनाथास्तथान्ये च महाकाया महौजसः । कृष्णवर्णास्तथा श्वेताः केचिन्मंडूकसप्रभाः

Transliteration

bhūtanāthāstathānye ca mahākāyā mahaujasaḥ | kṛṣṇavarṇāstathā śvetāḥ kecinmaṃḍūkasaprabhāḥ

Translation

وكذلك سادةٌ آخرون للبهوتا، ذوو أجساد عظيمة وبأسٍ جليل؛ فمنهم من كان داكن اللون، ومنهم من كان أبيض، ومنهم من يلمع بلمعانٍ كلمعان الضفدع.

Word by Word

• bhūtanāthāḥ: lords of beings
• bhūtanāthāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘of beings’ + ‘lords’)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय)

• mahākāyāḥ: huge-bodied
• mahākāyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); विशेषणम्; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘great’ + ‘body’)

• mahaujasaḥ: of great power
• mahaujasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ojas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); विशेषणम्; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘great’ + ‘vigor/power’)

• kṛṣṇavarṇāḥ: black-colored
• kṛṣṇavarṇāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); विशेषणम्; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘black’ + ‘color’)

• tathā: and likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)

• śvetāḥ: white (ones)
• śvetāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); विशेषणम्

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक) + cit (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); sarvanāma (pronoun) ‘some’; ‘cit’ = indefinitive particle

• maṃḍūkasaprabhāḥ: having a frog-like sheen/appearance
• maṃḍūkasaprabhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maṃḍūka (प्रातिपदिक) + sa (प्रातिपदिक/सदृशार्थक) + prabhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); विशेषणम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (उपमान-तत्पुरुषः: ‘having luster like a frog’)

Speaker

Narrator (context not specified in snippet; likely a purāṇic narrator within Brahmottarakhaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A crowd of colossal spirit-lords with varied complexions: some ink-black, some ash-white, others with a moist iridescence like a frog’s skin; their eyes gleam, bodies massive, standing in a twilight liminal space that feels both protective and uncanny.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūtanāthas (lords of spirits)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sacred encompasses diverse appearances; spiritual authority is not limited by outward form, color, or strangeness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No holy site is mentioned.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.